7 Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program

Transcription

1 7 Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program

2 In our media saturated world......where every action and reaction is immediately publicized and open to public debate, a company s reputation and public image have become primary concerns. That s one of the main reasons why philanthropy something organizations have been doing for centuries has become so vitally important from a marketing and public relations standpoint. This is also why your corporate social responsibility (CSR) program needs to be well planned and well executed to accomplish good for the cause, the community, and the company itself. At FrontStream, helping companies create and execute CSR programs with quantifiable benefits across the board is our mission. We work hard to make being responsible easy for our clients by acting as a true partner instead of just another vendor. Following this seven-step process will take you on a road map to CSR and bring success in no time at all. Of course, before you begin any trip, it makes sense to plan out the route. Seven Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program 2

3 About Us FrontStream is a leading provider of corporate philanthropy software and services that enable companies to drive a measurable increase in their giving, matching, and volunteering. Our experienced team helps businesses improve their speed and performance with moving donor dollars, save time on administrative tasks, and quantify results through advanced reporting and analytics. Seven Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program 3

4 Step 1 Align Your CSR Strategy with Your Business Goals Seven Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program 4

5 Step 1 Align Your CSR Strategy with Your Business Goals Your first step is to review and prioritize your organization s business goals and be sure that any CSR program you develop aligns well with those goals. This is the surest way to get support from senior management, since the CSR program will align strategically with where the company is heading and can even aid the organization in reaching those goals. Brand Awareness Consumers are more likely to engage with a brand that has built a reputation for doing good. In particular, this applies online via social media, but also in the real-world buying process. Employee Engagement As you review the company s goals in this light, be creative and consider how they can be achieved over the long term. This will open the way for exciting CSR program possibilities that can be carried years into your company s future. Employees tend to be more productive, happier, and more likely to stick with a company that they feel shares their values and cares about more than just profit. (This is especially true of Millennials, who studies have shown are more motivated by working with a company that shares their values than by higher pay.) Cost Control & Increased Profit While this is not universal, some causes that form the basis of solid CSR programs involve sustainable business practices that can actually save the company money in the long run. Examples include: Energy efficiency and using recycled materials. Seven Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program 5

6 Step 2 Involve All Your Company Stakeholders

7 Step 2 Involve All Your Company Stakeholders A CSR program should engage everyone touched by your business. This will have an impact on planning, so it s important to consider it early in the process. Here is a list of groups likely to be affected by your CSR program: Employees Obviously, your employees will be handling the lion s share of the workload for any philanthropic efforts. They have to able to get behind your initiatives. Customers Your customers serve the dual role of observers (potentially critics) and participants. The most successful efforts combine both roles positively and encourage customers to join the cause themselves and share with their communities. The Local Community A well-planned CSR program can position your company as a community leader with vision and a desire to do good. Your company s ability to involve the local community will determine how effective that positioning is. Management As the public face of the organization, and the individuals responsible for long-term strategic growth, your executive team needs to be able to speak to the vision behind your CSR program, and support it personally as well. Shareholders From both a financial and a personal standpoint, shareholders are interested in knowing that their investments are being used for good, and that the company s efforts are well managed. A wellexecuted CSR program that boosts the company s public image can have positive effects on the stock price too. Vendors and Distributors Your suppliers and distributors can be powerful allies in corporate giving campaigns. Their financial, personnel, and PR support can be invaluable. But they need to feel connected to and behind the cause to the same extent as your organization, or their efforts can t be coordinated effectively. There are likely other groups unique to your organization, industry, or circumstances that will need to be considered as well, so don t consider this list to be all-inclusive. For each group, you ll need to find out what causes are truly meaningful, then build your program around the areas where most of the groups intersect. It is at these common points of emotional connectivity that the strongest collaborative efforts can be fostered. Finally, consider how to include each group in your efforts and make them feel a real part of the process rather than just an add-on or an afterthought. This can go a long way toward ensuring the long-term success of your program. Seven Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program 7

8 Step 3 Build a True Culture of Philanthropy

9 Step 3 Build a True Culture of Philanthropy The best CSR programs have a top-down structure that begins with upper management and filters down naturally to the employees and beyond the organization from there. To make this happen, it s important to build a culture of philanthropy that begins with executives and upper management who are truly on board with the program s initiatives, are vocal with their support of the plan, and are visibly active in volunteering efforts themselves. By doing so, they can lead by example rather than simply serving as a signature at the bottom of a company memo. These same leaders can further promote this CSR culture by empowering the CSR manager(s) to do whatever is necessary to organize and carry out aspects of the company plan, and making sure they have the necessary resources to succeed. Expanding this culture to embrace the customer and the public in general is also important, especially as the program is getting off the ground. This can be achieved by being active on company social media channels and using these popular avenues to educate your networks about your cause, announce events, and encourage volunteering. Encourage your employees to share information about your CSR program especially their personal part in it through their own social media networks as well. Seven Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program 9

10 Step 4 Make Your CSR Program Easy

11 Step 4 Make Your CSR Program Easy This should be second nature, but it can get lost in the excitement of planning bigger and better things for your philanthropy efforts: Keep it simple. It should be easy for your employees to participate: Arrange for a single sign-on access through the company intranet to make registering for events and opportunities simple and straightforward. Put an easy-to-find link to all CSR engagement opportunities right on the intranet home page so no one can miss it. Provide employees with a pre-approved list of charitable or volunteer opportunities that align with company goals, and encourage them to suggest their own as well. Administering the program should also be easy: By setting up solid systems in advance, and especially by locating and building a relationship with a partner organization that can handle administering the CSR program for you, you make volunteering and contributing to the program a snap. Choose a trusted partner to administer your CSR program so you re certain all the money will get where it needs to go quickly, accurately, and securely. Set up simple systems that will allow for regular reporting of program results to stakeholders in real time. Be sure arrangements are in place to consistently track the distribution of charitable funds. Seven Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program 11

12 Step 5 Take a Broad Approach to Giving Back

13 Step 5 Take a Broad Approach to Giving Back The most effective corporate-giving programs are not limited to one or two specific events or methods. Instead, they take a broad view, answering the question, What else can we do to support this cause? Although any one of the following methods can produce excellent results on its own, a great CSR program will incorporate two, three, or more of these options in complementary ways: Sustainable Business Practices Going Green is more than just a tagline. A commitment to environmentally responsible materials, recycling, energy efficiency, or pollution mitigation can have a huge impact on the corporate level. Corporate Donations Donating company products or services to worthy causes offers an excellent opportunity to give back while eliminating waste. Planned monetary donations can be arranged through a corporate foundation a CSR program with a legacy. Workplace Volunteering Employees should be encouraged to volunteer by offering them pre-approved volunteer opportunities or by enabling them to choose their own. While they should certainly volunteer on their own time as well, an organization can show even greater support by offering paid time off for volunteer activities on company time. Beyond the obvious good these efforts do for the individual, the company, and the community, employee volunteer opportunities offer an excellent chance for team building and a boost to morale. Employee Donations By making it easy for employees to donate financially to various causes (either on a one-time basis, or on an ongoing basis via automatic payroll deductions), you empower them to help in ways they may not have considered before. Your employees should also have the flexibility to give to causes located in countries other than their own, since philanthropy happens everywhere. When ease is combined with knowledge of the cause and how the funds are being used, employees are even more likely to participate. Corporate Gift Matching To add even greater impetus to a donation program (and boost the overall corporate contributions), you can offer a match for qualified charitable contributions. Certainly, these aren t all the possible means by which you and your employees can give, so let your imagination run wild be creative! Seven Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program 13

14 Step 6 Focus on Measurable Results

15 Step 6 Focus on Measurable Results From a practical standpoint, no CSR program will be successful if its results cannot be effectively measured. As the saying goes, you can t manage what you don t measure, and a successful CSR program must be properly managed to yield results. Instead, focus on specific results that can be accurately measured, and refine those goals as the program progresses. Vague goals leave you with two serious drawbacks: you won t be able to tell when you actually reach them, and you won t impress executive leaders with the urgency of backing your program. Here s how to do it: Keep Accurate Records The best bet is an automated CSR management system that will allow you to instantly track dollars donated, trees planted, or any other metrics your unique program requires. Track these areas as rigorously as you would corporate accounts. Provide Leadership with Detailed Reports Your CSR management system should offer powerful reporting capabilities as well, so learn how to use them to provide real-time reporting against goals, as well as trending reports over time. This will help you justify continued support, and will help them take the program seriously. Measure, Analyze, and Adapt Use your data to measure your success, then use your success to justify goals that the data show you can successfully reach. Rinse and repeat.contributions. Seven Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program 15

16 Step 7 Choose the Right CSR Partner

17 Step 7 Choose the Right CSR Partner We ve already discussed just about everything you ll need to do to plan and implement a successful CSR program that will benefit the cause, the community, and the company. But now, we re going to talk about how to make it easier and quicker to accomplish: by choosing the right CSR partner. Keeping things simple for employees and for administration is a critical key to success. Establishing measurable goals and tracking all data with an automated CSR management application are also vital. More companies place their trust in FrontStream than any other corporate philanthropy management system because our focus is and always will be on helping businesses get the most benefit out of giving through speed, efficiency, ease of use, and quantifiable results. If you re ready to implement a world-class CSR program, we re ready to listen, collaborate with you, and make it happen! Request a demo today at If you re going to accomplish this while maintaining a broad view of your CSR opportunities and offering the maximum flexibility to leadership and employees, you re going to need a powerful partner with a proven track record in supplying turnkey administration support for CSR programs of that caliber. FrontStream is that partner, and we d love the opportunity to prove it to you by offering a free demonstration of our effective web-based CSR management software. Seven Steps for Building an Effective CSR Program 17

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